Sweet, Jesus, I am home.

Yesterday marked a turning point. First of all, all my big decisionsaree behind me. For those of you who know me well, particularly those who have traveled with me, you might guess what I mean. I have visited almost all of the places I researched,eaten at most of trip advisor's top recommendations, and now, finally, I have picked which of the almost identical boat tours to take. And I picked right. We toured the Napali Coast with Captain Andy on his brand spankin' new catamaran complete with full kitchen,2 bathrooms, charming ( and handsome) crew ready to refill your drink and...we did all of this with 40 of our new best friends. Within minutes the crew knew us all by name, and PH and I had found a cushy seat with a fun couple from Canada. I had briefly considered the raft tour that takes you into the caves, but PH put his foot down about the bathrooms. 30 seconds into the tour and I felt only sympathy for those poor refugees on life rafts bouncing through the surf. I gladly traded cave interiors for my luxury craft.
The Napali Coast is only visible by water, air (helicopter!) or foot. Two days of foot. Camp and treat your water foot. No bathrooms at all foot. Remember the opening scene of Indiana Jones where he is walking along a ridge in the mountains of Peru? Well, that's not Peru, it's Kauai, specifically the footpath along the Napali Coast.
So I settled in for our 6 hours on the high seas. Many were seasick, not me. Born to it. I felt more alive than ever. Covered in sunscreen, scarf and hat (still cute, but appropriately shielded) I was in heaven. And then the boat slowed. Or captain had spotted bottle nose dolphins. Now I have to say, I have seen dolphins before. Lots of times. And I do love seeing them. We are related. But I was unprepared for the dolphin effect. As the mamas and their babies glided right beside me, tears ran down my cheeks. And they kept on.PH found me a moment later and rolled his eyes. But he knew why. I used to be a mermaid. Some of you may not know that, but it is well known in the family lore. I was a mermaid, PH was a pirate, he fell off his ship, I saved him and the rest is history. I used to be a mermaid, and I will always be a mama. All of a sudden I was home. And I hardly knew I had been away. Meanwhile, I think my mermaid tail is growing back.
This morning we cleaned house. I hate to clean house. But with island music playing, doing laundry in the outdoor laundry room, with breezes and salt sea air, wearing a bathing suit and no shoes.....I felt deeply and completely domestic. Like goddess domestic. A friend said it sounded like I was in Naples channeling Sophia Loren. Yeah, maybe a bit of that, too.
So...mermaids, goddesses,dolphins....
I'm just sayin'....
Gonna go drink a MaiTai.